Marine environments encompass an impressive diversity of ecosystem and habitats.
Coral reefs among the planets largest and older structures created by living
organisms are home to dense concentrations of species and complex webs of
interspecies interactions. Though the species diversity in these ecosystems is
relatively less they are important in terms of fisheries and other ecosystem
services. They provide shoreline stability in the case of mangroves and
sustenance of endangered species like the dugongs in the case of sea grass beds.